ALA is pleased to announce this new program…
ALA New Product Award (NPA) Designation
Award
The ALA New Product Award (NPA) Designation will be conferred upon as many as three winning product entries in this second-annual LabAutomation2009 competition. Recipients of the award will receive the following:
- Official ALA NPA Designation Plaque
- ALA NPA Designation Media Coverage
- Inclusion in ALA Awards News Release
- Picture & Article on ALA Web Site
- Article in ALA News Section of February Edition of LabSnap
- Interview on The Lab Man Podcast Show at LabAutomation2009
- Live and Recorded in the ALA Member Center on the Show Floor
- Two-Minute Segment (Per) To Be Released with March 2009 Edition of LabSnap
Primary Judges*
- Jay Smith, ALA Member & Chairman, ALA Marketing Advisory Group, Plexera Biosciences
- Torsten Staab, Ph.D., ALA Member & Past President and Member of the Board of Directors, Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Brian Musselman, Ph.D., President, SciMarket Strategies
- Brian Howard, Publisher and Editor in Chief, International Scientific Communications, Inc.
* Media in attendance at the conference will be invited to participate as judges
Competition Guidelines/Process
- Prior to the exhibition each year, exhibiting companies will be notified about the ALA NPA Designation competition and given the opportunity to declare participation.
- Additionally, on-site in Palm Springs at LabAutomation2009 entry forms will be placed in each booth after set-up (typically on Saturday) offering exhibiting companies the opportunity to opt-in to the competition. The exhibitors will place the entry forms into a ballot box located in the Show Office on the Exhibit Show Floor declaring participation.
- All product entries must be on the exhibit floor and have some supporting data indicating it works as advertised.
- The product entry must be less than one year old in its current form (since the prior LabAutomation conference) to be considered. Major product enhancements can be considered.
- The top three winning companies of the ALA NPA Designation must have agreed to participate in the competition
Evaluation Guidelines/Process
The evaluation process is a two-phase approach:
Timing
Sunday, January 25 — Phase 1 (if additional time is needed, primary judges will adapt)
Monday, January 26 — Phase 2
Tuesday, January 27 — Confirmation & Announcement
Phase 1 — Sunday, January 25
- The Lead Judge will divide the new product entries equally among the four primary judges.
- Commencing Sunday evening, each primary judge will visit, review and rank the top three new products entries assigned. The participating media will canvas the entire exhibit floor and rank their top three new products.
- Sunday evening (and early Monday morning if necessary), the primary judges will meet to tally their respective rankings. This should result in a Top 12 List to be considered as part of Phase 2.
- Note — The primary judges are neither required to nor limited to choosing 12 new product entries for the second phase. At the primary judges' discretion, the list for the second phase may be nominally smaller or larger than 12 candidates
Phase 2 — Monday, January 26
- Each of the primary judges will visit, review and judge each of the Top 12 new product entries using the scoring criteria below.
- Monday evening, the primary judges will meet to tally the scores and rank the Top 12 new product entries. The top three highest scoring new products will receive the ALA NPA Designation.
- Note — At the primary judges' discretion, they may choose up to three top new product entries, but no more than three winners. In some years, there may only be one or two top new product winners.
Tuesday, January 27 — Confirmation & Announcement
- The top three product entries will be announced in the Exhibit Hall three hours before the close of the exhibition on the final day (Tuesday, January 27). Announcing well before the close of the Exhibit Hall will allow for the necessary media pictures and to record the live show of The Lab Man pod cast.
Scoring Criteria
As part of Phase 2, the primary judges will personally visit, review and score each of the Top 12 new product entries on the exhibit floor. The judges' decision criteria will be based on the following four categories (in no order of significance):
- market opportunity — narrow or broad in scope
- impact on the field of laboratory automation and technology
- extraordinary technical originality
- quality of supporting data
Scoring System
5-to-1 Rating Scale (integers only)
5 — Outstanding, Novel and Broad Impact for a New Product
4 — Very Good, Solid, Novel Product
3 — Some Unique New Product Qualities
2 — Needs More Proof and Development
1 — Not Substantially New or Improved
0 — Not New at All
Eligibility
The following individuals are not eligible to participate or be affiliated with the ALA NPA Designation program: ALA Board of Directors, officers, the LabAutomation Scientific Committee*, contractors, employees, members of the Judging Panel, family members, and/or those considered to be "insiders." Candidates companies affiliated with anyone on the Judging Panel are permitted to participate, but the Judge must recuse him or herself from evaluating that particular candidate.
- The LabAutomation Scientific Committee comprises a Chairman, Associate Chairman, Track Chairs and Associate Track Chairs. Session Chairs are not members of the LabAutomation Scientific Committee, and therefore are eligible to participate.
If your company would like to be considered for the LabAutomation2009 New Product Award Designation please contact:
Non-Discrimination Statement
Discrimination based on race, religion, gender, age, national origin, ethnicity, veterans status, or disability in regard to the ALA NPA Designation is prohibited. Each candidate company shall be evaluated based on the award's criteria which are tied to ALA's exempt purpose of advancing the science and education of technologies in the laboratory.
Reservation
ALA reserves the right to select and deselect any company at any given time. All decisions are final.
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